Religion
The Republic Pantheon of Gods worshiped in the Republic: # Agni - (m) Fire, Hearth & Home, Summer # Yana - (both genders) Portals, transitions, beginnings & endings, conflict # Vigdis - (f) War, sickness, physical prowess, Walls # Metrodora, The Archeus - (f) Motherhood, time, protection, defender of the state # Aygun - (m) Sun, sky, rain # Alodia - (f) Thievery, travel, wealth, eloquence, poetry # Zedekus - (m) Death, broken oaths, betrayal, Law, Justice # Oenone - (f) Wine, celebration, harvest, plenty, luck # Ekin - (m) Agriculture, family, child rearing, building, architecture, fatherhood # Ruqayya - (f) Wisdom, art, medicine, magic # Caron - (m) Love, sex, fertility # Kamen - (f) Wild animals, hunting, stone, mountains, earthquakes, patience # Dar - (f) Oceans, wells, rivers, chaos, terror, bad luck # Meltem - (f) Storms, winter, plague, birds, weather # Huri - (m) Moon, creation, artisans, beauty, steadfastness. Origin Myth of the Republic Pantheon In the beginning, the world was a cold black egg. Everything else was blackness, until the goddess Istria, who had been incubating inside the earth, broke free of the egg and was born. In the wake of her birth though, the world had been shattered into many pieces. Lamenting that she had caused such destruction, she gathered up all the delicate pieces of the world she could find. She wanted to put the pieces back together, but they would not hold. She knew she had to find a way. She decided to weave the pieces so they would hold fast to each other. She fashioned a great loom out of the stars and strung the loom with light. She then shuttled the pieces back and forth in between the stars until they began to hold. As she worked, she did her best to make the world beautiful. She wove in the mountains, the seas, and the forests. She decorated the mountains with snow, the forests with flowers, and the sea with coral. Finally she was done and when she looked at what she had wrought, she was not pleased with it. Only the light of the stars illuminated her great work, and they were dim indeed. She took one of the stars and swallowed it. Once it was in her belly, she fed it and caused it to grow. Soon she was great with child and she gave birth to Aygun, god of the sun, who had fire for hair and skin that glowed like a thousand thousand stars. Now she could see her work and, finding it beautiful, was pleased. The goddess Istria found that she loved her creation; the stars, the earth and the sun. She wished to bear more children and surround herself with love and life. She took Aygun to her bed and bore many children with him. Soon the world was filled with beasts, birds, fish and all manner of living creatures. But Aygun, though he loved his mother Istria, did not delight in her creations she had wrought with his fiery essense. He came to her and said, "All these things you have born are comely to behold, but they do not burn with life as we do. Let us lie together once more, but this time give our children a piece or ourselves so that they may speak and think and create as well." Istria delighted at this and lay with Aygun again. Again she became great with child and again she gave birth, but this time her children looked like her and could speak and laugh and think for themselves. Seven children she bore, four daughters and three sons. Of the daughters were Metrodora, the mother, Dar, who loved the oceans, and Meltem, who soared on the winds. Of the sons were Huri, the Weaver, Agni, the fiery son, Kamen, the steadfast, and Ciar the silent one. Aygun and Istria were pleased with their children and were happy for a time. But the happiness did not last. Their children, having their own minds and ideas about how things should be, began to change the world in strange ways that displeased Istria. Kamen changed the land by raising mountains and carving valleys. Meltem, who adored the winds caused them to blow with such force that she created the first storms, which still exist to this day. Agni caused great forest fires and volcanoes to erupt, killing many of Istria's children. Ciar, loved his mother but not his father, felt at home in darkness and so created night to shroud the land and hide his father Aygun from the world for a time. The worst in Istria's eyes though were Huri and Metrodora, who lay together in imitation of their parents and gave birth to their own creations. They bore the gods and goddesses, fantastical creatures that were perverersions of Istria's creations, and finally they gave birth to the human race. Angry that their children had wrought so much change in her perfect creation, Istria demanded her children undo their work, but they could not. How can one quench all the fires of the world, or stop the wind from blowing, or ask the mountains to lay down, or banish darkness from all places? No their changes were unchangeable and so Istria, mother of all, had to accept them. But there were some changes she could undo. The children of Huri and Metrodora could be killed. Istria demanded these children be sacrificed as penance, but Huri and Metrodora refused, for they loved their children as much as Istria loved her own. They gathered their children and plotted the overthrow of their own mother. All the gods, goddesses, monsters, and humans banded together and waged war on the mother of all things and her loyal children Dar, Melten, Agni, and and Kamen. The destruction was terrible. The world burned, froze, drowned, crumbled, and howled through the war. Huri was a cunning being though. He wove intricate plans and strategems to confound his mother and eventually defeated her by ensnaring her in a web of light, not so different from the web on which she wove the world itself. As she lay at his feet, broken and beaten, he wove a cage of silver chains around her to be her prison and then he placed her among the stars in the night sky, forever seperated from her firstborn Aygun and her other creations. And so was the moon created. It was not the end of the war however. Istria's loyal children Dar, Meltem, Agni, and Kamen threatened to destroy all of creation if their mother was not returned to them. Metrodora knew, that, just as Istria could not undo the changes these four had wrought on the world, their siblings and other creations could not contain the power of these four or hope to stop them should they make good on their threat. Ciar, the silent one, had remained neutral and aloof during the war, prefering to watch and wait to see which side would win. He chose this moment to step in and intervene. He brokered a peace between his four loyal siblings and his disloyal brother & sister. He argued that Istria's grandchildren, as born by Metrodora and Huri, should not be destroyed, since the mountains, oceans, fires, and storms could not. In return however Huri and Metrodora would be punished for their betrayal. Huri would be sent to his mother's prison, the moon, and he would forever reweave his chains as Istria tried to break through them. As for Metrodora, she would be buried in the earth and, once a year, she would renew the world, giving it new life and rebirth just as the unleashed forces of the world tried to tear it apart again and again. In this way, though there is death, there is also new life, and the cycle of the seasons staves off the entropy of nature's wrath & destruction. As for the children of Huri and Metrodora, they were permitted to do as they will in the world. Istria's loyal children, molified by the brokered peace, but saddened by the war, retreated from the world and are only heard from now and then when the storms blow, the earth shakes, the mountains spew fire, and the ocean swells to remind us of their displeasure. Ciaran, having finished his work, withdrew back into the darkness and would not be seen again until the time of magic coming to the world. The Myth of How Magic Came to the World Before the coming of magic to the world, that power was reserved only for the gods. Humans, the children of Huri and Metradora, lived and died according to the cycles of the world and the pact made between the primal spirits of the elements and the upstart gods who parented the humans. They warred, they loved, they built, and they faded away. Always the same, never changing. The gods tended to the humans in the absence of Huri and Metradora and would answer their prayers, or not should they be unworthy, and kept them safe from the worst ravages of the world and each other. Ciar, god of darkness pitied the humans, but also secretly hated them. The humans worshipped the gods, made offerings on altars to them, and promised rewards for favors and intercession. None prayed to Ciar though. They feared the dark and what lay hidden within it, so they feared him. None thought to seek his aid to banish the dark because they knew he loved it. Instead they cried to Aygun and even the primal god Agni, who once sought to destroy them, to bring light to banish the dark. This incensed him. He thought of himself as humanities savior. He had negotiated the truce that spared them. He sacrificed his own mother, who he loved, so that the war would end and creation be saved. He who done so much, but now was ignored and feared. He knew he could not get his revenge on the humans without incurring the ire of his siblings. Should he try to destroy the humans they would join forces and stand against him. Then it would be he in a silver cage in the sky next. No that would not do. Ciar was cunning though and he devised a plan. He came to his niece Ruqayya, student of the mysteries of creation, and bid her follow him to a cave where he had discovered a great mystery. Always one intrigued by the unknown she followed him. What she didn’t know is that he had devised a trap in the cave. He had created a knot that had no beginning and no end. He knew his sister would not be able to resist solving the puzzle, which she set to immediately. As she worked on the knot, it tangled her in it until she was helplessly bound. Ciar then covered her in an impenetrable darkness and stabbed her heart. Using her powers, Ruqayya tried to heal herself, but Ciar repeatedly stabbed her again and again. In an amphora he collected her blood and then left her weak and helpless in the cave. He took the blood and, waiting for night to fall so none would see what he did, he took to the skies and poured his niece’s essence into the clouds. The magic in her blood turned the clouds to a storm and it covered the whole land in its fury. Blood rained from the sky and all who were caught in the downpour were forever changed. Their blood now contained a piece of the essence of magic and mystery from the goddess of magic herself. Humans suddenly had the powers of the gods, though in a diminished capacity. War began almost immediately. Istria was flung into a war that would last for years and years. Those with magic sought to rule their non-magical brethren and came into conflict with other mages who sought to do the same. The gods raged at this change in humans. They sought out Ruqayya, blaming her for this catastrophe, but none could find her. They tried to intercede, but the power unleashed by some of the humans made the gods pause and fear for themselves. None of them knew how powerful the humans had actually become and did not wish to test it. They retreated from the world and the humans, deciding they would leave the humans to decide their own fates. Huri and Metradora both wept from their respective prisons. They cried bitter tears at the destruction and carnage their children wrought upon each other. Metradora particularly despaired because even her power to renew life could not keep up with the death and destruction ravaging the land. Deep in her cave prison, so close to the earth, Ruqayya heard her mother’s sobs and called out to her. Metradorra heard her daughter and they spoke in hushed whispers of what had happened. They wanted to help, but both were bound in their respective underground prisons, unable to reach those in need. Finally Ruqayya, ever wise and knowledgeable in the mysteries devised a plan. She would allow herself to die and, as her mother was the goddess of rebirth, her essence would flow through her mother and they would join to become one. Metradorra protested, but Ruqayya knew it was the only escape. The goddess of magic reopened the wounds in her heart and allowed her blood to spill upon the ground. It soaked the earth and seeped down to Metradora who drank in her daughter’s essence. Metradora surged with newfound strength and power. She easily slipped between the rocks, roots, and waters of the earth, which had held her in place, and found herself free once again. The power had destroyed her body though and she needed a new vessel to contain her. She found it in a young girl, freshly a woman, named Angita. The girl lived in the city of Gamayun, a thriving trade center, and had a twin brother named, ironically, Ciaran who was also an earth mage of some skill. Metradora/Ruqayya/Angita protected the city from mages who waged war, Mage Generals, and other dangers using her great power. The people worshipped her fervently and flocked to her side. Seeing the change in his sister Ciaran became confused and jealous of her power. Though she remembered him, she was not truly his sister anymore. He prayed to Kamen to make him as strong as his sister, but it was Ciar that answered. The god of darkness was furious that Ruqayya AND Metradora had escaped the prisons he’d designed for them. He was further enraged by her interference in his plot to punish humans. When the young boy Ciaran cried out for power, Ciar was all too happy to oblige him. Just as his sister had done with Angita, he filled the body of Ciaran with his power and turned on his sister. They fought bitterly, but Ciar prevailed, forcing his sister to flee. Thus began the rule of the Mage King and the long time of darkness that followed. Ylvan Peninsula Origin Myth of the Ylvan people The people have always lived here, but the land was not always as it is now. Many winters ago, more winters than there are stars in the sky, our ancestors slumbered in the grasses of an endless and flat land. There were no mountains, no seas, no forests...just an endless plain of grass as flat as still water. Then the ancestors awoke. They had heard the song of cousin wolf and her mate being sung to the moon. The song traveled across the flatness to reach the slumbering ears of all the people. When they woke, they searched for the source of the song, but all they found was the flatness. Suddenly the song stopped. The moon had set and cousin wolf lay down to sleep. The people cried in anguish for the song to resume, but they could not find cousin wolf. They tore their hair and gnashed their teeth, so beautiful was the song that its absence was anguish. Some grew angry and they began to tear up the ground in great chunks. Earth and stone flew about until mountains began to grow and great gashes in the earth appeared. Some grew sorrowful and began to cry. They cried and cried in endless torrents til most of the holes in the earth had been filled with their salty tears. Some grew hopeful and began to shout and shout for the singer of the song to resume, thinking if they only shouted loudly enough they would be heard. They shouted so loud and for so long, great winds blew from them and the wind gave birth to storms. Some grew fearful thinking that the end of the song meant the end of their existence and they began to flee. They ran and they ran. They ran so fast that their feet threw off sparks and the first fires were born. All this commotion awoke cousin wolf. Seeing what was happening, cousin wolf knew something had to be done. She found a woman who had not cried, or shouted, or tore at the earth, or ran in fear. The woman had stood silent, patiently watching the people while they wailed, and shouted, and ran, and flung about. Cousin wolf whispered in her ear. She whispered magical secrets and taught the woman how to sing a song that would send the ancestors back to sleep so she and her mate could go about their business. With cousin wolf's secrets, the woman began to sing beautifully and the people slowly returned to their slumber. Cousin wolf and her mate left, crossing the newly made oceans and mountains until they were far away. Even far away though, they knew they could no longer sing their songs, for fear it would wake the people. They lamented this by howling their sorrow in the night, having to be content with only that music.